Ibn Kathir on Commemorating the Death of Husayn (رضي الله عنه)

With the ever-increasing trend of Sunnis commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn (رضي الله عنه) on Ashura, it is helpful to reflect on the words of Ibn Kathir (رحمه الله) from his al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah:

فكل مسلم ينبغي له أن يحزنه قتله – أي الحسين- رضي الله عنه ، فإنه من سادات المسلمين، وعلماء الصحابة وابن بنت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم التي هي أفضل بناته ، وقد كان عابدا وشجاعا وسخيا ، ولكن لا يحسن ما يفعله الشيعة من إظهار الجزع والحزن الذي لعل أكثره تصنعٌ ورياءٌ ، وقد كان أبوه أفضل منه ، فقتل وهم لا يتخذون مقتله مأتما كيوم مقتل الحسين ، فإن أباه قتل يوم الجمعة وهو خارج إلى صلاة الفجر في السابع عشر من رمضان سنة أربعين ، وكذلك عثمان كان أفضل من علي عند أهل السنة والجماعة ، وقد قتل وهو محصورٌ في داره في أيام التشريق من شهر ذي الحجة سنة ست وثلاثين ، وقد ذبح من الوريد إلى الوريد ، ولم يتخذ الناس يوم قتله مأتماً ، وكذلك عمر بن الخطاب وهو أفضل من عثمان وعلي ، قتل وهو قائم يصلي في المحراب صلاة الفجر ويقرأ القرآن ولم يتخذ الناس يوم قتله مأتماً ، وكذلك الصديق كان أفضل منه ولم يتخذ الناس يوم وفاته مأتما ، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سيد ولد آدم في الدنيا والآخرة ، وقد قبضه الله إليه كما مات الأنبياء قبله ، ولم يتخذ أحد يوم موتهم مأتما يفعلون فيه ما يفعله هؤلاء الجهلة من الرافضة يوم مصرع الحسين ... وأحسن ما يقال عند ذكر هذه المصائب وأمثالها ما رواه علي بن الحسين عن جده رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلمأنه قال: ( ما من مسلم يصاب بمصيبة فيتذكرها وإن تقادم عهدها فيحدث لها استرجاعا إلا أعطاه الله من الأجر مثل يوم أصيب بها ) رواه الإمام أحمد وابن ماجه

Every Muslim should feel saddened by the killing of al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), for he is one of the leaders of the Muslims, one of the scholars of the Sahaabah, and the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who was the best of his daughters. He was a devoted worshipper and a courageous and generous man. But there is nothing good in what the Shi’ah do of expressing distress and grief, most of which may be done in order to show off. His father was better than him, and he was killed, but they do not take his death as a deathday as they do with the death of al-Husayn. His father was killed on a Friday as he was leaving the mosque after Fajr prayer, on the seventeenth of Ramadaan in 40 AH. ‘Uthmaan was better than ‘Ali according to Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, and he was killed when he was besieged in his house during the days of al-Tashreeq in Dhu’l-Hijjah of 36 AH, with his throat cut from one jugular vein to the other, but the people did not take his death as a deathday. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab was better than ‘Ali and ‘Uthmaan, and he was killed as he was standing in the mihraab, praying Fajr and reciting Qur’aan, but the people did not take his death as a deathday. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq was better than him, but the people did not take his death as a deathday. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the leader of the sons of Adam in this world and the Hereafter, and Allah took him to Him as the Prophets died before him, but no one took the dates of their deaths as deathdays on which they do what these ignorant Raafidis do on the day that al-Husayn was killed. … The best that can be said when remembering these and similar calamities is that which ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated from his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: “There is no Muslim who is afflicted by a calamity and when he remembers it, even if it was in the dim and distant past, he says Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (verily to Allah we belong and unto Him is our return), but Allah will give him a reward like that of the day when it befell him.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Majaah. (English translation taken from here with slight modifications.)